Palmer: Titans should have thrown to Cook earlier

Titans tight end Jared Cook had a strange afternoon in last Sunday’s loss to the Vikings. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck didn’t throw a pass in Cook’s direction for the first three quarters, as the Titans were in the process of falling behind 20-0.

But Cook was magically rediscovered in the fourth quarter, when Hasselbeck and Rusty Smith targeted him eight times. Cook caught five of those passes for 37 yards and a touchdown, but by then, the game had already been decided.

Had the Vikings been covering Cook closely prior to the fourth quarter?

“No, we missed a couple of opportunities to throw him the ball early and went in another direction,” offensive coordinator Chris Palmer said. “We got that squared away on the sideline. Jared Cook is a good player. He’s a guy we look to throw the ball to and make plays.”

Does that mean the Titans will try to get Cook involved earlier against the Steelers?

“Well, (the Steelers) are going to dictate that to us,” Palmer said. “I looked at (film) today and they doubled the tight end on a particular team. Are they going to double Jared? Jared is a playmaker. I don’t know what his numbers are compared to last year. But I think he’s playing very, very well for us. I think all our tight ends are playing well.”